However, the person standing behind her was not the one she had expected. And even more surprising, it was someone she hadn’t anticipated at all.
“Why are you here?” Dolores Flores unconsciously tightened her grip on the pen in her hand.
Matthew Nelson glanced around the office. It had a simple and elegant white theme in its decoration.
“So, this is your workplace?” Matthew walked toward the French windows and peered outside.
Dolores set down her pencil and stood up. “I’m asking you.”
Matthew turned around, looking at her with a sneer. “I’m here to see you, of course.”
Dolores’s hand clenched at the edge of the table behind her back. She stared straight at him, trying to see through him.
What did he really want?
But she couldn’t decipher anything.
“Did you meet Mrs. William?” she asked, her tone implying that he must have.
She couldn’t think of anyone else who would force her to return.
Matthew strolled over, pulled out the chair behind her, and sat down. “Yes,” he replied frankly.
“Why?” Dolores demanded.
She couldn’t fathom any reason why he would do this!
“No reason,” Matthew said, seizing Dolores’s wrist and trying to pull her onto his lap. Dolores resisted, struggling to break free from his grip.
“I am hurt.”
“What does your injury have to do with me?” Dolores retorted imperiously.
Matthew sighed. “Are you curious about what I gave Mrs. William?”
Dolores was indeed curious about what it was that had persuaded Mrs. William to break her own rules.
“What did you give her?” Dolores inquired.
“Since you joined LEO Corporation, you must have heard about her husband, Mr. William, right?” Matthew gently stroked Dolores’s back, attempting to calm her down.
Dolores nodded. “I’ve heard that the couple was deeply in love. It’s just that Mr. William passed away too soon, and his wife remained unmarried for his sake.”
“Do you know what Mr. William’s profession was?” Matthew managed to divert Dolores’s attention.
Dolores shook her head, as it was beyond her knowledge.
Matthew wrapped his arm around Dolores’s waist, urging her to sit. Dolores resisted reluctantly, while Matthew whispered, “I’m hurt. Can’t you be a bit more obedient?”
Dolores felt aggrieved. Didn’t he realize that such actions were unpleasant?
Wasn’t their behavior too intimate?
Why did he always have to act this way?
“Mr. William was a jewelry designer,” Matthew revealed.
Dolores raised her eyebrows, surprised by Mr. William’s identity as a jewelry designer.
“But what does this have to do with whatever you gave Mrs. William?” Dolores couldn’t comprehend it.
“When Mrs. William met William, she was still an unknown fashion designer. It happened at a fashion conference where Mrs. William’s designs were being showcased for the first time. Coincidentally, Mr. William was also attending that conference…”
“So, did they meet?” Dolores could picture the scene in her mind. “It must have been very romantic, right?”
She felt a pang of envy. In her youth, she had also yearned for love, but she had missed her chance.
Now, she was just a single mother.
Matthew noticed the change in Dolores’s emotions and held her waist tighter. “They did meet, but it wasn’t romantic. I would describe it as rather awkward…”
Dolores furrowed her brow. “Did something happen?”
“Yes. Someone reported that Mrs. William had plagiarized someone else’s work…”
“Impossible!” Dolores trusted Mrs. William’s character and abilities completely.
She would never resort to plagiarism!
Matthew gazed silently at Dolores’s furious expression. “I wasn’t referring to you. Why are you getting so worked up?”
Dolores calmed down, realizing she had become too flustered. “I just can’t believe that Mrs. William would plagiarize.”
“She did indeed…” Matthew observed Dolores’s frown and her panting, as if she were about to explode with anger at any moment.
“Her design had the same name as a well-known necklace, but Mrs. William had no knowledge of that necklace whatsoever. And coincidentally, the inspiration behind both designs was the same, only the designs themselves were different.” Matthew plucked a strand of hair near Dolores’s ear and twirled it between his fingers, speaking softly, “Could it be fate?”
Indeed, it was a peculiar coincidence.
But Dolores couldn’t comprehend how they could have had the same inspiration.
“Silly.” Matthew pinched Dolores’s cheek. It was then that Dolores realized, “Since their designs shared the same name, an investigation was necessary. So, when they met, they discovered that they had drawn inspiration from the same source and thus named their designs the same.”
“Not exactly clueless,” Matthew smirked.
Dolores made a face. Did his words imply that she was unintelligent?
“So, you gave Mrs. William the necklace?” Dolores guessed.
Matthew nodded.
“Why did you have the necklace in the first place?”
The necklace had been purchased by a gentleman at an auction and gifted to his wife.
He was financially well-off, being a resourceful businessman.
Shortly after Mr. William’s passing, Mrs. William searched everywhere for the necklace. Although she knew who it had, the man refused to sell it.
No matter how much Mrs. William offered, he wouldn’t part with it.
Coincidentally, that businessman had business dealings with Matthew.
Dolores understood that Matthew had given Mrs. William something she had always longed for. That was the reason Mrs. William agreed to open a branch.
Dolores soon realized she had been distracted by Matthew.
She wasn’t pondering what he had given Mrs. William.
Instead, she wondered why Matthew wanted her to return to her country.
What was in it for him?
What did he truly desire?
Dolores then realized that she was sitting on his lap unconsciously while they were talking.
She quickly stood up and looked at Matthew. “What’s your intention?”
He appeared uncomfortable after she got up. He gazed at Dolores and said, “What intention could I have other than you?”
“Why me?”
“Why don’t you want to go back?” Matthew’s tone softened. “Or is there something that makes you unhappy?”
“No!” Dolores instinctively retorted.
“Then why are you afraid of going back?”
“Who said I’m afraid?”
Matthew sneered, “Then why do you seem so excited?”
Dolores found herself rendered speechless in front of him.
She didn’t want to admit that this man had the power to unsettle her mind.
Pretending as if nothing mattered, Dolores said, “When did I seem excited?”